Senate Picks Markup Date for Market Structure Legislation
Senators have landed on January 15 for the highly-anticipated event
Welcome to the New Years Eve (Wednesday) edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!
What you’ll read: A markup date has been picked for market structure, a roundup of holiday week headlines, and Multicoin General Counsel Greg Xethalis rounds off our year of podcasting.
Senators on the Banking Committee have landed on Thursday, January 15, for a highly anticipated markup of crypto market structure legislation that has been in the works for more than three months, Crypto in America has learned.
Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone hinted at the January 15 date during his appearance on our Crypto In America live show on December 19, and several sources have now confirmed it, though the official announcement is expected next week.
However, it remains unclear whether members and staff have reached enough common ground over the Christmas break to support a bipartisan markup where both Republicans and Democrats feel comfortable voting yes.
Previous attempts to schedule the markup in 2025 fell apart amid disagreements over how to regulate DeFi, which tokens should be treated as securities versus commodities, and whether stablecoin issuers should be permitted to offer rewards to users — issues that have been the subject of continuing negotiations since Congress broke for recess on December 19.
The legislation could technically clear the Banking Committee without Democratic support if Republicans vote in lockstep, but passage on the Senate floor would be a heavier lift. Once merged with the Senate Agriculture Committee’s portion of the bill, it would still need 60 votes to invoke cloture and end debate before it can pass, making Democratic buy-in essential.
Before the recess, Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott said that “strong progress” had been made with Democrats. Several industry leaders who attended a bipartisan meeting with committee members echoed that optimism, saying they felt confident about where the bill stood heading into the new year.
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Holiday Headline Roundup
Grayscale is seeking SEC approval to convert its Bittensor Trust into an ETF, giving traditional investors access to Bittensor, a blockchain project focused on decentralizing AI.
President Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, announced plans to distribute a new security token with rewards for its shareholders using Crypto.com’s native Cronos blockchain. It also launched five “American Made” ETFs on the New York Stock Exchange, focused on security and defense, real estate, energy, technology, and iconic American companies.
Bitwise filed for 11 crypto “strategy” ETFs, including Aave, Hyperliquid, Sui, Bittensor, Uniswap, and ZCash.
Privacy tokens were the best-performing crypto asset class of 2025, led by Zcash (ZEC), which is up over 600% year to date.
Self-custody provider Trust Wallet confirmed that 2,596 wallets were affected in a $7 million hack and pledged to reimburse all losses, citing thousands of false or duplicate claims and the need for strict verification.
Caroline Ellison, former girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, is scheduled for early release on January 21, 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, following her cooperation in the FTX case.
The SEC’s crypto-friendly deputy director of the Division of Corporation Finance, Cicely LaMothe, announced her retirement after contributing to several pro-crypto policies this year.
Greg Xethalis on 2025 Policy Wins and 2026 Outlook
For the final episode of 2025, we sit down with Multicoin Capital’s General Counsel Greg Xethalis to reflect on a pivotal year in crypto policy and explore what’s ahead in 2026.
Greg talks about his journey into crypto through the Winklevoss twins, offers insights on the uniquely American nature of the industry, and explains why he believes the GENIUS Act was the most impactful development for crypto in 2025. We also explore ETF trends, the rise of digital asset treasuries and whether they will keep their luster in 2026, and why Greg remains optimistic about crypto’s long-term prospects.
Watch this episode on all platforms here.
A Note from the Team
We want to sincerely thank all of our subscribers for supporting us this year as we continue to build Crypto In America into a trusted and recognized media brand within the crypto space.
Since our launch in March, we’ve recorded 47 episodes featuring some of the industry’s most influential voices, grown our newsletter subscriber base and built our X account to over 17,000 followers, launched a successful Friday live show with hundreds of thousands of views, and helped shape the crucial conversations of crypto’s biggest year yet.
We can’t wait to do it all again with you in 2026.
🎆 Happy New Year!
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Nice one getting the 4-11 on a markup!